Coffee and Cigarettes
by Keith Maniac

Comment:
Bad habits! :)
Great portrait. The lighting and toning is also very good. I like it how she looks away, like she means to say 'Mind your own business". Without the table and ashtray it would be dull.

Harrison's Flowers
by ellamay

Comment:
I like the dark mood. It has a special effect on the greens, yellows and orange.

Fallen
by agwright

Comment:
Wonderful chess photo. The positioning of the pieces and horizon makes this a very strong composition. I like the near perfect symmetry of the black pieces an their frosted finish causes a very nice subtle grey tone that also provides a nice transition from the black background to the bright tone of the chessboard (the fields are just visible).

Girl with a pearl earring
by arpita

Comment:
As a composition and idea it is great, but...
This is about a girl with a pearl earring and while you follow Vermeer's way of lighting (the opposite site of the face facing the window light) I feel that there is not enough light on the left side of the face. The contrast between the left side and the right side is a bit too strong.
Again, like Vermeer, the light in the eyes is at the outside of the pupils, but it might have worked better a little bit more inward.
I have rated this a 9 because it is still a nice portrait and you follow Vermeer's lighting actually. But for my feeling it misses that liitle bit extra, else it might have been a 10.

Conspiracy Theory
by TechnoShroom

Comment:
The composition tells the story. It is good, it is funny. Well done.

Shall We Dance (Fred & Ginger, 1937)
by pbaarn

Comment:
Very interesting photo. The technical quality is very high.
The shoes, the wonderful shoes (shoes is to cheap a word for such footwear) tell their own story this way, just like your title says. The woman, in focus, seems to invite the man, out of focus, to dance. The woman has already stepped onto the dance stage, while the man seems to move out of the shadows to join her.
No wonder that I like the positioning and use of shadows and dof. The chessboard floor adds a lot of perspective and goes well with the shoes. Very good.

What Lies Beneath
by crabappl3

Comment:
Good exposure. I like the composition and how the light falls. The little bit of mist adds that bit of interest to make it good. A person on the pier might have worked even better.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge ( www.owlcreekproductions.com/ocv5.html )
by Arcanist

Comment:
Great use of repetitive pattern and color. Very good. There is no clear subject in the photo itself, but the lines and patterns are entertaining on their own. 9

P( 3,14) darren arnofsky
by akyros

Comment:
I like the effect created here, but the oval border bugs me a bit.
Concerning the border: I like the concept and the framing effect, but the transition from black to photo is so hard. Especially when you see the shadows that go from black to blue in a nice soft way. I don't know if it had been basic rules legal, but a softer transition on the border (feathering it) might be preferable.
The image: The lines of the staircase draw me deeper and deeper. The people on the stairs give direction, add movement and flow, enhance the perspective and give scale. I think that even without the people it still might look good. The person looking upwards, standing still = interesting.

The Godfather
by quzailan

Comment:
The light falls just perfect. Very strong portrait and very godfatherly. I like it a lot.
One minor thing: I feel it might be stronger with more space at the bottom and less space at the top. But a 10 anyway.